6 Health & Beauty Benefits Of The Kokum Plant

The Garcinia indica plant, commonly known as kokum, is a tree native to the Western Ghats region of India. It produces the highly prized kokum fruits, which are bright red in color and about the size of a small plum.

Kokum is part of the mangosteen family, a juicy fruit with a mildly sweet fleshy peel and an acidic pulpy interior. It is frequently used as a souring agent in Indian cuisine. Kokum sherbet is a sweetened traditional drink enjoyed in the tropical region of Goa, consumed to keep cool in the heat and protect the skin from the sun.

It has a long history of medicinal and cosmetic use in Ayurveda. While the fruit pulp contains fiber, protein, carbohydrates, pectin, and vitamin C, the most impressive of kokum’s healing qualities lie within the fruit rind and the seed…

Kokum Butter

The kernels of Garcinia indica seeds are comprised of 33% to 44% oil. Kokum butter is made by crushing the fruit seeds and boiling them in water. Fat is skimmed off the top and filtered twice to remove seed shells and debris.

Naturally white in color with a mild scent, kokum butter is somewhat dry and flaky. It has a melting point of 104°F, liquefying when it comes in contact with the skin. It’s also very lightweight and non-greasy. Kokum butter is among the most stable vegetable oils, with a shelf life of up to 2 years.

Similar in chemical composition to cocoa butter, kokum is entirely edible and possesses emollient, astringent, and soothing properties. It contains:

Stearic Acid

As its major constituent, kokum butter is made up of 56.4% stearic acid. This amino acid is a surfactant that has a cleansing effect on the skin, binding with oil molecules to help wash them away.

Oleic Acid

An emollient that keeps skin soft and moisturized, kokum butter contains 39.4% oleic acid. Oleic acid is an omega-9 fatty acid that exerts an anti-inflammatory and anti-aging effect on the skin. Its potent antioxidant activity helps repair damaged skin cells, making it especially beneficial for eczema and psoriasis sufferers.

Palmitic Acid

Palmitic acid is a saturated fatty acid that makes of 2.5% of kokum butter. Acting as both a hydrating emollient and a protective occlusive that creates a barrier on the skin against air and water, palmitic acid also displays some antioxidant properties. Although we naturally produce palmitic acid in our skin, it decreases by as much as 56% as we age so supplementing it may help reduce the signs of aging.

Kokum Fruit Rinds

Garnering much interest from the scientific community, kokum rinds contain a truly unique mix of phytochemicals. The fruit peels are so special because they consist of three valuable nutrients: anthocyanins, garcinol, and hydroxycitric acid.

1. Weight Loss Aid

Hydroxycitric acid (HCA) is a derivative of citric acid, making up 20% to 30% of the kokum rind. It is also found in Garcinia Indica’s Indonesian cousin, Garcinia cambogia.

Combined with a proper diet and plenty of exercise, HCA can help shoulder some of the burden of losing weight. HCA has been shown to inhibit the accumulation of visceral fat (abdomen), subcutaneous fat (lower body), and total fat area, according to a double blind study published in 2003. In it, 44 obese men and women took 1000 mg of HCA daily over a period of 12 weeks. The participants experienced an average of 10% to 15% reduction in each of these fat areas. Use of HCA supplements had no adverse effect and there was no weight rebound after 16 weeks.

2. Ease Anxiety & Depression

Another interesting quality of HCA is its ability to increase serotonin levels in the brain. An animal study published in 2015 compared the effects of HCA with the anti-anxiety drug Diazepam on laboratory mice. Using several experimental models to assess anxiety in animals, the researchers found that mice given kokum fruit extract were less fearful, more active, and showed a willingness to explore new surroundings than the control group. The behavioral results were very similar to those treated with Diazepam.

3. An Antioxidant Powerhouse

Like the many fruits that stow a goodly sum of antioxidants exclusively in their peels, kokum rinds are enriched with anthocyanins and garcinol.

But the principal antioxidant of kokum fruit peel is garcinol, a type of chalcone. Garcinol is a super powerful substance, easing oxidative stress and neutralizing free radicals three times more effectively than vitamin E.

4. Anti-Inflammatory

Chronic inflammation lies at the heart of many kinds of disease. Because it is the common underlying cause of cancer, dementia, heart disease, and diabetes, it is theorized that if we can prevent inflammation from occurring in the first place, we could avoid degenerative diseases altogether.

Studies on garcinol have shown that it suppresses several pro-inflammatory enzymes. It effectively inhibited the expression of COX-2, iNOS, and NF-κB in one study. In another, it interfered with the activity of 5-lipoxygenase, COX-1, prostaglandin, and PGE2.

5. Chemopreventative

Garcinol’s antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacity also have implications when it comes to fighting and preventing cancer.

Though research is still in its infancy, so far the results have been promising. In an animal study, garcinol significantly reduced the spread of human colon cancer cell lines. It was likewise effective in inducing apoptotic cell death in human leukemia cells. And lastly, it was shown to be quite potent against breast and liver cancer cells.

6. Anti-Ulcer

Gastric ulcers are painful sores that appear in the stomach and small intestines. They can be caused by a Helicobacter pylori infection, long term use of aspirin or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or simply stress.

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